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View Full Version : Help me build a cliche/comedy dungeon



Vortling
2008-11-25, 08:33 PM
Greetings ladies and gentlemen. I am in need of your assistance. I intend to put together an adventure/dungeon consisting of cliches and comedic references of the D&D variety.

Said adventure will start in a tavern where the group will be approached by a mysteriously shrouded old man who tells them of a dungeon filled with danger and treasure.

Said dungeon will be located underneath a gazebo.

There will be an orc guarding a chest in a 10' by 10' room somewhere in the dungeon.

The adventure may end with rocks falling and everyone dying.

Wrack your brains and post all the adventure and dungeon cliches and comedy ideas you can. (Yes I do intend to run this adventure here once it's put together)

Gralamin
2008-11-25, 08:35 PM
Watch Slayers TV (As well as Slayers Next, and Slayers Try, and Slayers Revolution). Liberally steal.

Oracle_Hunter
2008-11-25, 08:36 PM
Kobolds with Traps.

Monsters that make no sense in the dungeon (say, a couple of Ogres standing in a large room, while the dungeon entrance is barely big enough to fit a man-sized creature).

Wandering Monsters that make even less sense (a Displacer Beast hanging out with some goblins; a Djinn chilling with a couple of orcs; Rust Monster and an Iron Golem).

NEO|Phyte
2008-11-25, 08:37 PM
There must be an area of Darkness, filled with shadows (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/shadow.htm). The only way to proceed is to magic missile the shadows.

At the tavern, there MUST be an adventurer with an ogre-slaying knife. He adamantly refuses to part with it. The dungeon itself must have ogres.

Maerok
2008-11-25, 08:39 PM
At least one NPC is a half-demon/half-angel/half-black-dragon vampiric paladin trying to combat his/her ancestry but is subsequently killed off with a force cage and cloudkill combo later on.

BBEG is trying to build a Locate City bomb, or a million-commoner quarterstaff railgun.

Draz74
2008-11-25, 08:44 PM
Don't forget a demon statue with a Sphere of Annihilation inside its mouth. Maybe with a warning sign posted on it, because this isn't you-know-what-dungeon.

And a big idol with really valuable gems for eyes, guarded by lizardmen. Don't forget that either.

Weezer
2008-11-25, 08:46 PM
you need a gazebo of DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM

Oracle_Hunter
2008-11-25, 08:52 PM
Overtly complicated death traps.

Traps need not cause actual death; find a copy of Tomb of Horrors for examples of both kinds :smalltongue:

dwagiebard
2008-11-25, 08:53 PM
You need a dragon, of course! On top of a pile of gold.

EDIT: Tomb of horrors (3.5) can be downloaded here!
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/oa/20051031a

Stupendous_Man
2008-11-25, 08:56 PM
Overtly complicated death traps.



With unnecessarily slow lowering mechanisms.

Alcopop
2008-11-25, 09:03 PM
There must be an area of Darkness, filled with shadows (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/shadow.htm). The only way to proceed is to magic missile the shadows.

Class! Love it! :smallbiggrin:
referencing this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHdXG2gV01k) I presume?

Anyhow, DnD came from Lotr I guess so you could just rip the **** outa that. or maybe they come across another party in there with all the cliche class/race combinations; Half orc barb, half elf bard, elf ranger ect

Kris Strife
2008-11-25, 09:07 PM
every npc is named Bob, reguardless of gender.
The final room containes a vorpal bunny rabbit.
The most devestating trap needs to stop just before it kills the PCs and a sign that reads 'Out of order' needs to pop out.

TheEmerged
2008-11-25, 09:12 PM
There absolutely *must* be a princess/damsel in distress to be rescued -- who turns out to be in the other dungeon/castle/lair...

The person who gives the party the quest turns out to be the BBEG, who is actually testing the effectiveness of his countermeasures/tricking the characters into uncovering the artifact/etc.

There should be at least one side quest that is deceptively easy ("Kill the giant rat"). Let the players believe they've succeeded, only to meet the REALLY giant rat (this was lampooned in the Bard's Tale remix game a few years back).

Fishy
2008-11-25, 09:15 PM
Maze of twisty passages, all alike?

Trizap
2008-11-25, 09:17 PM
maybe instead of a BBEG at the end, there is only an old man who angrily shouts at them: "ey! you kids get outta m' dungeon!"

Kris Strife
2008-11-25, 09:26 PM
have the BBEG be a LG wizard with alzheimers that accidentally turned himself into a lich but hasn't noticed yet.

joe
2008-11-25, 09:27 PM
If you're looking for over the top cheesy bad, you could check out the original Castle Greyhawk module. Though I would never recommend playing it otherwise.

Oracle_Hunter
2008-11-25, 09:33 PM
Cursed Items! Hilarious Cursed Items :smallamused:

Mix them in with regular treasure, or just put them all in a pit somewhere. Your party Rogue will climb down and start trying stuff on, I promise :smallbiggrin:

Thurbane
2008-11-25, 09:37 PM
All secret doors have a big red S painted on them; all concealed doors have a big red C with an arrow poitning to the door.

Vortling
2008-11-25, 09:39 PM
This is absolutely excellent! :smallbiggrin: Keep them coming!

chronoplasm
2008-11-25, 09:43 PM
Have a mimic in there, except instead of a treasure chest it looks like a toilet.
Also, put a treasure chest in there that the orcs use as a toilet.
Potty humor is pretty easy.

Also, you know those fungal spore monster things that look like Beholders but aren't? Throw those in there. In fact, just fill the place with stupid, ridiculous monsters.
Be sure to have at least one large monster inside of a room that it couldn't have possibly squeezed into.

Mando Knight
2008-11-25, 09:45 PM
Ahem. (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TabletopGames) TVTropes: The one-stop shop for all your literary device needs.

TheThan
2008-11-25, 09:53 PM
The 100 foot long elder dragon crammed in a 10'/10' room.

When the players open the door, all they see is the dragon's smoldering red eye. He's pissed cause someone locked him in a room that's way to small, and now he wants to just kill something to make him feel better.

Shadic
2008-11-25, 09:56 PM
The 100 foot long elder dragon crammed in a 10'/10' room.

When the players open the door, all they see is the dragon's smoldering red eye. He's pissed cause someone locked him in a room that's way to small, and now he wants to just kill something to make him feel better.

I read it and laughed. So uh.. Agreed.

Perhaps a door that leads the players onto a large catapault.. Willing to fling them at the wall.

Thurbane
2008-11-25, 09:57 PM
A room full of massive iron and stone humanoid statues, none of which are golems! :smallbiggrin:

Moose Fisher
2008-11-25, 10:07 PM
Something from Alice in Wonderland, like the Mad Hatter Tea Party. The Mad Hatter would toss hats on top of the PCs that do various hilarious/harmful effects (but only one or two hat would be useful).

A branch of the dungeon with the four elements as a theme. If you don't want them to go through too much you can say the elements canceled each other out and now there is simply a 50'X50' room filled with treasure.

Genies that grant wishes, but in the worst way. Bonus points if you grant a wish a player accidentally says.

A room where the floor is built like a see-saw. Nothing bad happens though aside from shoving them into the other door.

A food dispenser... Monsters's gotta eat y'know.

An effeminate male with spiky hair wielding a ridiculously large sword. Best paired with a woman with long, flowing hair of unnatural hair color, a quiet mercenary, and some kind of animal.

Another party made up of a stupid fighter, kleptomaniac thief, apathetic wizard, and a cleric.

A room just like the one you are playing in, with people just like the players, playing a game just like yours.

Infinite portals.

chronoplasm
2008-11-25, 10:08 PM
One of the doors in the place is trapped. When triggered, the trap releases a hammer from the ceiling that is supposed to swing down and crush whoever is at the door...

...Except the hammer breaks a wall open to reveal a treasure trove.

Oracle_Hunter
2008-11-25, 10:09 PM
A room that will kill you.

The wall is a monster, the ceiling has monsters hiding in it, the floor is a monster, and all the furniture? Mimics :smalltongue:

Ideally, your players should act like this (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20070725) by the time you're through with them :smallamused:

Stupendous_Man
2008-11-25, 10:21 PM
Another party made up of a stupid fighter, kleptomaniac thief, apathetic murderous wizard, and a cleric delusional bard.

Fixed it for you.

Vortling
2008-11-25, 10:23 PM
A room that will kill you.

The wall is a monster, the ceiling has monsters hiding in it, the floor is a monster, and all the furniture? Mimics :smalltongue:

Ideally, your players should act like this (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20070725) by the time you're through with them :smallamused:

That's not quite what I'm going for but I'll take what I can get. If I did want that I could always go for a reprise of Tucker's Kobolds.

Hal
2008-11-25, 10:29 PM
Under a gazebo? No no no, the BBEG must be riding a gazebo mount.

Oracle_Hunter
2008-11-25, 10:33 PM
That's not quite what I'm going for but I'll take what I can get. If I did want that I could always go for a reprise of Tucker's Kobolds.

No no, you don't want to surprise your party with the Incredibly Lethal Hallway, you want to make them extremely paranoid about all hallways.

This can be done by positioning corpses-slain-by-traps near innocuous locations. Make it a pattern so that your players will start saying "I enter the roo... wait! What colors are the floor tiles!"

It'll be like a game of Paranoia! :smallamused:

Maerok
2008-11-25, 10:35 PM
A rusty key all the way at the beginning ends up as part of the final lock on the gate to escape.

A cubic room where every surface has a circle of teleportation on it, or something like it. You throw a very long rope into one of the walls and soon the entire place is filled with rope coming out through every direction of the floor, walls, and ceiling.

Reverse gravity.

Randel
2008-11-25, 10:45 PM
1). two doors, one leads to certain death and the other leads onward. to tell which is which the players must ask one question to one of two guards standing watch. They both say that one of them always lies and the other tells the truth. The solution is to just kill the guards and have the party rogue search for traps in the hallway they go down.

2). The party collect they keys to open up a long-locked door. when they do, flip a coin. If its heads they will come face to face with an elder dragon inside a treasure room with no entrances it can fit out of. If the coin lands tails they come face to with the skeleton of an juvinile dragon who starved to death long ago. Clues reveal that the dragon was put in there by a wizard named Schroedinger. They adventurers may be able to use diplomacy on the elder dragon by finding it some food and/or devising a way to get it out of that damm room.

3). The party get pass several deadly traps that have never been beaten before... and then run into a traveling merchant or a tavern somehow positioned inside the dungeon conveniently there to do business. Bonus if the shopkeeper looks just like all the other shopkeepers they've run into. Some may suspect he's some kind of Time Lord who travels around selling stuff in a Tardis.

4). They see an orc guarding a treasure chest in a 10 by 10 foot room.

5). Later on they see an animated chest that's guarding an orc wizard in a 10 by 10 foot foom.

6). A room with a series of incredibly deadly traps and automated weapons and such all poised to protect a single copper piece in the middle of the floor. Several warning signs are set up warning not to pick up the copper piece because its trapped. Then have dead skeletons of past adventurers in a circle around it as if they were slain trying to get it.

7). A kitchen/break room where all the monsters hang out when not sitting in the dungeon.

8). A group of succubi or nymphs are lounging in a room. They all have headaches.

9). They find a ring of three wishes with one wish left. There is a team of lawyers bound to serve whoever picks up the ring in wording their wish in a way that won't backfire.

10). A wall covered in groping hands sticking out of the stone. These are Helping Hands who will help carry the group up and down the wall without slipping. Some of them knit sweaters if provided with needles and yarn.

11). A kobold named pun-pun who is angry because the DM won't let him use his his totally awesome build.

12). A section of the dungeon that isn't finished yet and has a bunch of gnomish construction workers sitting around drinking coffee. They refuse to fight because they are 'on break'. Loud construction noises can frequently be heard, sometimes interrupting villains when they monolog.

13). A sign that says "I prepared Explosive Runes this morning"

14). Magic mouths which appear in the walls and say 'You're going the wrong way." "Beware." or "Go no further for only death awaits you" if the heros ignore them then the mouths start to complain.

The Glyphstone
2008-11-25, 11:23 PM
Hilarious "trap":

a large, tall room with a catapult in the center, and a hole in the wall near the ceiling. Describe the catapult in great detail, including the person-sized seat where the payload would normally go, along with the hole - possible have a glow or sparkly appearance inside the hole. There is also an Antimagic Field covering the room.

Don't tell them that the catapult is pointed AWAY from the hole.:smallbiggrin:

Moose Fisher
2008-11-25, 11:43 PM
The group enters a door, only to find themselves sitting in a dark corner of a tavern. Potential adventuring parties won't stop badgering them for quests until they leave.

An NPC that stares into space and keeps saying the same thing over and over.

The PCs are given a yes or no question. Choosing no loops them back to the question, forcing them to select yes to continue on.

A fierce combat, each member taking turns and keeping track of 'initiative'. Some combatants have to be continually reminded of the rules and conditions of combat, such as their bonuses or how far a spell reaches.

A room has been hexed! Players move along the room on hexagons instead of squares.

A river of a green, semi transparent liquid. Tasting the liquid reveals it is sweet and refreshing while having a slight fizz. ("WHERE'S THE MOUNTAIN DEW?!")

EDIT: A dragon that has liquidized its assets into the surrounding countryside and industries. The PCs can still loot the deeds, stocks, and contracts off of the dragon's body.

chiasaur11
2008-11-26, 12:08 AM
An incredibly simple mission to get a pie from an ogre.

The head of Vecna.

Raroy
2008-11-26, 12:24 AM
A quartet of giant rats. They remix lyrics of dragon force.

Leewei
2008-11-26, 12:32 AM
Enlist a friend or two to imitate magic mouth spells giving obscure riddles to PCs. Have the magic mouths talk over each other, insult each other, spoil their riddles and generally misbehave horribly.

Maerok
2008-11-26, 01:09 AM
>.>

<.<

Rust Monster. With a cloak of invisibility. On fire.


ALSO: Mirror of Opposition with the quirk that all the enemies are created with goatees (even the dwarf). Or a doppelganger.

ALSO ALSO: Anything by Vorpal Tribble. Dropbears, for one.

Gralamin
2008-11-26, 01:27 AM
ALSO ALSO: Anything by Vorpal Tribble. Dropbears, for one.

I don't think anything of Vorpal Tribble's is Cliche. Dropbears are hilariously awesome though.

Drammel
2008-11-26, 01:33 AM
Two things are missing:

1. Pirates
2. Ninjas

A fantasy setting just isn't cliche without them. Add them liberally to your dungeon and watch the hilarity ensue. For extra flavor have them mounted on dinosaurs. :smallwink:

BobVosh
2008-11-26, 01:34 AM
Don't forget the "one of always tells the truth, and one of us always lies" gag

Overpowered DMPC that arrives to save em all, stays long enough to piss your players off, and dies to be avenged.

Rot Worms are required.

A minortaur in a maze.

Stupendous_Man
2008-11-26, 01:35 AM
Don't forget the "one of always tells the truth, and one of us always lies" gag


Both lie!!!

Maerok
2008-11-26, 01:42 AM
I don't think anything of Vorpal Tribble's is Cliche. Dropbears are hilariously awesome though.

That was an appeal to the comedy side of this misadventure. :smalltongue:

chiasaur11
2008-11-26, 01:42 AM
Both lie!!!

Or one tells the truth, one lies, and one stabs jerk logicians who ask smart questions.

Thurbane
2008-11-26, 02:15 AM
A chest guarded by a small red dragon (or other fire breathing creature). Once the guardian is defeated, the party discover the chest chock full of Potions of Resist Energy (Fire).

Note: this is the only fire using foe in the dungeon.

NEO|Phyte
2008-11-26, 02:24 AM
Oooh, thought of another one.

A narrow hallway, with a single goblin/orc/whatever blocking the way. Spells and ranged attacks have no effect on the creature, and when one of the PCs gets within 5', the entire party is suddenly sucked through a vortex, arriving in a large room with a passing resemblance to the hallway, arranged in a staggered line, facing a small group of creatures like the one in the hallway. The players are unable to move, but they are still able to attack the enemy regardless of distance, unless the creature is flying, in which case they need a ranged attack. When an enemy reaches 0 HP, they slowly vanish with a red glow. When the battle is over, a triumphant theme plays, and the party is hit with Otto's Irresistible Dance. When they stop dancing, they find themselves back in the hallway, with the creature gone, and some gold and random items in their packs.

For extra fun, do this every d20x5 feet for the entire dungeon, with only the 'boss' fights visible ahead of time.

BobVosh
2008-11-26, 02:50 AM
Both lie!!!

Better yet, both tell the truth, you can ask as many questions as you want, but one of them were lied to. The sign that explains the puzzle was just there, they didn't make it.

bosssmiley
2008-11-26, 05:06 AM
The Grimtooth's Traps series. Job done. :smallamused:

Roderick_BR
2008-11-26, 05:47 AM
Have, at some point, your group open a door. When they look inside, describe the exact room you are in, with a group of kids sitting around a table with lots of books, papers, pencils, and dice. Describe everyone's clothes and details. Before the PCs can take an action, one of the kids (preferably the one sitting behind the folded paper thing), stand up, say "do you mind?" and close the door. When they open the door again, it goes directly into a blank wall.
It'll either rise some eyebrows, or get some laughs. Or both.

Totally Guy
2008-11-26, 05:55 AM
Don't forget the straight man. Comedy is better when you have action - reaction and not just all action.

Funkyodor
2008-11-26, 07:12 AM
When the PC's beat the BBEG, make sure he is just knocked unconcious revealing a holloween mask. After removal, have the BBEG be the bartender or some such. "I would have gotten away with it too, if it wasn't for you meddlesome kids!"

sparky22
2008-11-26, 07:21 AM
You need to reference OotS at some point and have a PC fall from somewhere and land on a Flumph.

llamamushroom
2008-11-26, 07:48 AM
Have a rolling boulder trap, which, once set off, summons an epic-level rogue wearing a hat with the returning quality. He should be armed with a whip and be completely unstoppable unless one of the party throw a snake at him/bluff him into thinking there are snakes nearby, which cause him to run away screaming.

hewhosaysfish
2008-11-26, 08:27 AM
Stupid monsters (http://www.headinjurytheater.com/article73.htm)
Evil pants!

You probably won't be able to find up-to-date stats for all of them (if there's any justice in the world) but they should serve as suitable... inspiration... if you want to make you own stats for them.

sparky22
2008-11-26, 09:07 AM
There must be an area of Darkness, filled with shadows (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/shadow.htm). The only way to proceed is to magic missile the shadows.


A river of a green, semi transparent liquid. Tasting the liquid reveals it is sweet and refreshing while having a slight fizz. ("WHERE'S THE MOUNTAIN DEW?!")

These must follow each other.

brant167
2008-11-26, 11:31 AM
Here is an idea. As the players walk into the dungeon they notice that it is a old dwarves underground train system with one side, in plain view, collapsed. So they must follow the railroad plot. When they go through the tans system they will be assaulted by cultist of “he who can not be named“ (the actual name of the deity.) The cultist have attempted to create a gate from the material plane to the Abyss… but have failed miserably. Instead they have created a gate to Limbo where Slaadi are rehearsing a play written by Inevitables and are forcing people to watch their "masterpeice."

AKA_Bait
2008-11-26, 11:49 AM
My suggestion:

When the PCs enter the room read the following:


You stoop through the entryway into a small furnished room. A miniature fireplace set into the west wall blazes warmly in front of a undersized but comfortable looking couch and love seat set. In the corner nearest the fireplace is a small upholstered mattress with a badger lying on top who eyes you stupidly. On the north end of the room is a small writing desk and leather chair. Upon the desk sits a small bag and a preserved tiefling head in a jar. Above the fireplace is a tiny pink tapestry that reads 'Lair, sweet Lair".

If the PC's move more than 5ft into the room a small gnome leaps from behind the upholstered couch and half-heartedly screams "Grrr! I'm a monster!"

If the PCS fight the gnome, he's really badass. Otherwise, he'll just give them some baked goods and the pouch, full of gold, that was sitting on the writing desk.

Zenos
2008-11-26, 12:41 PM
My suggestion:

When the PCs enter the room read the following:



If the PC's move more than 5ft into the room a small gnome leaps from behind the upholstered couch and half-heartedly screams "Grrr! I'm a monster!"

If the PCS fight the gnome, he's really badass. Otherwise, he'll just give them some baked goods and the pouch, full of gold, that was sitting on the writing desk.

I'm stealing this.

enderrocksonall
2008-11-26, 01:23 PM
throw one member of the party into the "topless pit", a 6-in depression in the floor that when you stand in it you can see the topless dancer that is dancing on the astral plane. Follow it up with the bottomless pit, which can be your choice between actually having no bottom, and just disintegrating the character's pants, leaving them completely nude from the waist down!

Ravens_cry
2008-11-26, 03:05 PM
Have the monsters always looking a bathroom, which is nowhere to be found in the while dungeon, except one room which can only be accessed through an ethereal jaunt or other spell, but it has a sign that says 'out of order'.